Musical instrument player



Aug. 28, 1934. J. w. BISSETT MUSICAL INSTRUMENT PLAYER Filed Oct. 23, 1933 Patented Aug. 28, 1%34 PF! 7 an a.-

' a, more aw Li UNE i Efi STA. i 1,972,038

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT PLAYER John W. issett, Garrison, Pa. Application October 23, 1333, Serial 63-15153 4 Claims.

In the customary way of playing stringed instruments where the st ings are plucked or picked by the thumb and fingers as in the mandolin, for example, there is considerable fatigue or tiring {1 w ii; of the wrist, thumb and fingers; Again there is explained, by a bow-like m 2. limit to the speed with which the picking can vidua], rotation 11 mi a be'done whi hrestricts the scope of the music. passing through. the c111 ves Greater speed means an increase in the range of w rd nd they? oll may the musical composition. With these consider- M10115 in mill-d, I have P a p y Each roller has its periphery longitudinally stringed instruments v ch will obviate the disribbed or grooved to afiord a good friction suradvantages mentioned and which will have 0''" face. advantages'and'will result'in no loss of At each end each roll-er has a pintle l6, jourmusical quality of the performance. As one na ed to turn freely in a bearing each end plate emplification of my invention, I will show in the or bar and preferably the upper part of the drawing. and describe. hereinafter its application bar is a cap 17, that is secured in place by suitto or embodiment in a mandolin. My invention, able bolts and preferably an oil hole runs through however, consists whatever is described by or the cap to the pintle iournaled in the underside is included within the terms or scope of the apof the cap. 4T0 pended claims. Qn each pintle l6 nearest the picking point of 7 In the drawing: the strings is a. crank 18 that engages a radially Fig. 1 is a perspective view of enough or" a extending slot 19 at one end of a finger 28, that mandolin to show that embodiment of my invenconstitutes the string pick and which is mounted tion; between its ends on a pivot 21, projecting from Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the player attachthe adjacent cross bar 14, so that the pick end 22, 8G

ment at the tail piece and of the instrument; f the a m W h is a j One f the nstru- Fig 3 i a psgrspective View 5 130mm of one ment strings will vibrate as the crank rotates of the rollers nd one of th picks separated from the rotation of its roller and thus the string B 'iefly described, invention includes a sewill be struck, pucked, or picked and caused to ries of parallel rollers, one for each string of the V b ate to ive the required musical 50113151; and 3 instrument and a. vibratory picker adapted t b this, of course, is the case as to each of the strings. actuated by each roller, the rollers being rotat- Of Course, the adjacent p S a sufficiently able by friction contact with the peripheries paced from each other so that each will vibrate thereof as by means of a g m i n fecjpro... freely without obstruction from the other. 1catory member corresponding with the bow of The Outer e d 0f t Pick P o s 1 a e fi ted 0 a violin. Because of the feasibility of using a each in a 11016 in a C s ball 23, Whifih e S bow-like operating device, a musici n accus- Over the outer sides of the lower portions of the tomed to playing the violin type of instrument is pick fingfls 20 d all; its pp d s S ll d able instantly to play an instrument embodying as by means of SCIEIWs the SE36 0f the m 1 49 equippgd t my invention. 7 14. To make a smooth or even finish, the

The portion of the conventional mandolin 10, Side Of the bar 14 adjacent the radial member of shgwn requires no gpegial desgriptign as ny jnthe crank 18 is IGCGSSed t0 IBCGlVG the crank arm vention involves no alteration in the structure and Provide a spa-C9 for its mmtion or Oscillationthereof, my invention in fact being designed to Om Qf the T0116! jnuma'ling Cross bars 14 may employ or be available for use with a mandolin be rigidly O immOVably a p Of the a e h e 160 without any alteration of its essential characterthe Provision is made in the case of the other for i m limited vertical movement or adjustment of the Straddling the four strings 11, is a chassis or p ck Carrying D thereof, that is to Say, e pa t frame which includes a pair of spaced apart lonalong side of which the picks project towards the gitudinally extending base plates 12, by which strings. However, as shown, both are adjustable. the frame may be clamped or otherwise suitably Accordingly, each cross bar is made of two pieces secured to the table or front 13, of the instrument one 24, of which is '01 arched plate form with a and upwardly arched cross bars 14, one at each vertical leg 25, at each side which lies against a W end that extend transversely of the instrument corresponding portion of the cross bar 14 that is and are arched so as to clear the strings below fixed to the base bars 12, and a sliding connection is provided at each leg' that includes a bolt 26, and a vertical slot 2'7, which permit vertical movement through a limited extent of the roller journal carrying part of the. plate and of the picks. Normally the vertically movable member 24, of the cross bar 14, is yieldingly held at its highest position by the pressure of a bent spring 28 that arches or bows downward from its opposite ends which bear against the bottom of said member 2a, and at mid-length is engaged at the bottom by a screw adjustable bearing 29 so that the tension of the spring may be adjusted. By proper downward pressure of the bow in bowing, it will be seen that the movable member 24, of the cross bar may be depressed carrying with it the picks and upon release or" that pressure'it- Will rise and that it is possible to have a. delicate graduated downward movement by skillful pressure of the bow on the rollers and thus the quality or volume of the sound produced by the picks may be altered.

Preferably at each side the movable member 2 -1 has a guide lug 30, that slidably bears against the adjacent stationary portion of the cross bar 24, and thereby the described vertical movement is a guided one.

The bow 31 may in length and general form correspond with a violin bow except preferably the roller engaging portion 32 of the bow isa satisfactory friction giving material such as a strip of rubber or the like suitably secured to the body or shank of the'bow from end to end between the handle and the heel thereof.

It will give an understanding of the speed with which the picks may be vibrated to state that if the bow is thirty inches long and the bow-engaged rollers are each three-eighths of an inch in diam eter, then one complete stroke of the bow would revolve the roller twenty-six times so that in a period of about one and one-half seconds, the strings would be struck fifty-two times in one stroke of the bow. Thus a speed of vibration of the strings is possible that is impossible with the ordinary finger playing and this greatly enlarges the musical scope of the instrument. And, of course, the fatigue incident to finger picking or plucking is eliminated.

Of course, to avoid marring the delicate finish of the instrument, pieces of felt or other cushioning material may be positioned between the chassis or frame and the part of the instrument to which it is'attached.

What is claimed is:

l. A stringed musical instrument player comprising plural vibratory string-engaging picks,

roller-type actuating means for said string-engaging picks adapted to be turned by peripheral contact therewith and comprising a roller for each pick, and a bow rec'procable in peripheral contactwith such roller-type actuating means.

2.'A stringed musical instrument player comprising a group of rollers corresponding in numher with the number of the strings to be vibrated, means supporting said rollers out of contact with the strings, and a vibratory pick operatively connected with each roller, said rollers being rotatable by contact of rotating means with the periphery thereof.

3. A player as in claim 2 in which each pick is a finger pivoted between its ends and the operative roller connection is a crank and slot.

4. A player as in claim 2 in which the picks are yieldably supported for movement towards and from the strings.

JOHN W. BISSETT. 

